dfinley

My family (husband, 15 year old son and a friend and my parents) are renting a house the 2nd week in October.We are flying into Boston. We have never been there and wonder if it is too late in the season to do anything. This is our fall break and would like to visit at this time.Do you have any tips for us (what to do, how to get around, where to eat, side trips, etc..)Any help would be apprecitated.

escargot

If you are going the weekend of Oct 13-15, you are in luck on many things, as some things close the 15th or shortly thereafter.

A few suggestions:
Here is a link to a thread on Martha's Vineyard where I had posted lots of info you might find helpful, even though the original poster was mostly looking for hiking trails, it has lots of info on that and many other things on island.

http://tinyurl.com/jvpkz

Also, check out the website
www.thetrustees.org
This group runs several areas of the island that have wonderful things to see and do/ great views/ walking/beaches/etc - especially with the age range you have I was thinking you would really enjoy the Cape Pogue lighthouse tour by jeep from the trustees site out on Chappaquidick -

(not knowing yet if you will have a car, are renting an over the beach jeep vehicle yourselves or are walking/shuttle bus-ing the island - and that would make a difference what you could and could not do or what I would suggest)

however, you can be a walk on for the short ferry to Chappy, and could even walk /bike down to the trustee site which is also where the Mytoi Japanese Gardens are and take their jeep tour of the lighthouse going along the beach route. It's quite lovely out there and even 15 yr old boys will love it.

They also have canoe/kayak trips, etc. check out the site - if you have your own jeep/car you can explore Wasque and other beaches also.

I would also suggest checking out the MV event schedule on the web site:the tiny url link is:

http://tinyurl.com/hc8l7

I would definitely go out to Aquinnah/Gay Head to the lighthouse - I think the little breakfast place on the hill may be closed by then, I think it closes Columbus Day wknd, but still you can park and walk the beach around the great clay cliffs and it is beautiful - or not, but you can still see the lighthouse, walk up to it for great views and see the cliffs from there a bit too if you don't want to walk the beach.

As far as getting around: tell me if you will be brining your car over on the ferry or renting a vehicle while there (even if you think of renting a jeep for one day to do some exploring that way), you can also take public transp/tour bus out to different points - tell me where you house is located also.

Some of the above info will help me help you decide if you can fit in Oak Bluffs, Vineyard Haven, Edgartown/Chappy and Aquinnah/ Menemsha area -

definitely some thing swill be closed - but much of the beauty of MV is the scenery, which is always there - and other stores and restaurants will be open still. tell me what type of food/prices you are looking for : a range, all economical, one special night out, etc and I can make some suggestions.

Assuming you are renting a house, will you be eating all breakfasts in and/or also bbq'ing dinners - and if so, I would send you to Shiretown Meats for that ! Great meats, great recipes from the owner when you buy also !

NatureGirl19317

Dear dfinley,

Hello! Escargot was absolutely wonderful in helping me plan my MV trip! She already provided you with the trip planning link-if youd like to see the trip report (includes our itinerary/places to eat, etc) check out "NatureGirls Marthas Vineyard Trip Report."

October was a beautiful time of year to visit-youre going to have a great time!!!

Enjoy your trip and know that you are in great hands with Escargot!

Keds1

I can't imagine an entire week on the Vineyard with no access to a car. There are shuttle buses that will take you to the 3 main villages- Oak Bluffs, Edgartown, and Vineyard Haven, but not up island.
Escargot is so right - Chappaquidick is fun in nice weather (ferry taken right from Edgartown)
Any of the fish markets will cook up huge lobsters for you -I like the Net Result or John's in Vineyard Haven, and you may eat more lobster than you've ever had for a really reasonable price.
Menemsha is my favorite little harbor with The Galley for casual food.
My favorite beaches, both stunning, are Long Point, which is public( Trustees of the Reservation)in West Tisbury, and Lucy Vincent in Chilmark which is private but that won't be an issue in October. Have a wonderful time - bring warm clothes just in case for the wind.

escargot

Hello there NatureGirl !! I should have thought to add your trip report to my post - to make it even easier for you dfinley, here is the tiny url link to her trip report:

http://tinyurl.com/ew3zm

and Keds1 - ahh, Net Result - saves me every year b/c I am allergic to seafood but it is an easy drive to pick up seafood/shellfish for my husband while my meal is cooking on the grill !! He loves their food ! ...agree about a car making it much easier, when dfinley comes back and let's us know the answers to some of those questions I asked above, that will maek it much easier to recommend an itinerary for them.

dfinley

Thank you so much for all your help!! We don't know if we should rent a car from the Boston airport and drive to the ferry or take a bus then ferry and rent a car on the island or maybe a car isn't needed. I don't have the information yet on the location of the house. It is a friend of a friend's house. It is by the sailboats?Whatever that means.
We love all seafood!! Looking forward to eating alot!! Maybe a suggestion for 1 special night out,a breakfast place and good cheap food also. We have a grill at our rental house.

We would like to visit Chappy and the Japanese Gardens also the lighthouse tour. The men would like to fish and my mother and I love to shop. I looked at the October calender and it seems everything closes down Oct 7. We will be arriving Oct 7 and leaving for Boston Oct 13th. If there is time we would like to go to either Newport or Nantucket for the day. Your suggestions are all great and from the sound of them you must think this time is an OK time to visit. That was my main concern since so much closes Oct 1-7.
Thanks again!

dfinley

I just found out we are staying in Oak Bluff near Vineyard Haven. We will take the ferry and then rent a car. I think one day my mother and I will fly to Newport for the day while the men fish. Any suggestions to our trip would be great!

dfinley

Author: dfinley
Date: 07/16/2006, 01:20 pm
I just found out we are staying in Oak Bluff near Vineyard Haven. We will take the ferry and then rent a car. I think one day my mother and I will fly to Newport for the day while the men fish. Any suggestions to our trip would be great!

Anonymous

I haven't seen the calendar you referred to, but I'd be very surprised if things close down on Oct 7, since that's Saturday of Columbus Day weekend, traditionally the grand finale of the season. Yes, things will be quieting down, but there's a good chance you'll have perfect weather and lovely foliage to admire.

TravelTess

I suggest you rent a car at the airport, reserve a space on the ferry for you and your car, ASAP. That way you don't have to schlep your bags to and from the bus to the ferry and you'll have a car on the island the entire time - which you'll want. MV is so wonderful the first half of Oct - not very many tourists, things are less expensive and the weather is very nice.

escargot

I would also rent the car at Logan Airport, especially if you are flying in and out of Logan -and make your ferry reservations for with a car at
steamshipauthority.com

I am imagining rental prices would be cheaper plus off island plus you will have access to more 'hideaway' places on island.

You can drive over to Chappy on the Chappy ferry, park at the Mytoi Gardens/ Tourist Office and take the jeep ride from there to the dunes/ lighthouse/etc - a good place to rent kayaks, etc which also has lessons, is windsupmv.com - which might be near your house since it is between oak bluffs and vineyard haven. the 15 yr olds might enjoy doing that for a day.

One of the the, if not the best guide for fishing is Buddy Vanderhoop -definitely go with him if you can, he is wonderful, amazingly knowledgeable about the waters and the island a generally fun guy - read is web page annd you'll see why:

here is a tiny url link to his website for his company, Tomahawk Charters - if it doesn't work let me know and I'll post back the entire web link, but this way won't stretch out this thread:

http://tinyurl.com/enuq8

The other thing to think about is how you would get to Newport for a one day trip, even if you flew - I think if you did private/charter you could go into Middleton Airport, which is about 2 miles from downtown Newport, and take a cab and shop on America's Cup and Bellevue Ave and if you wanted to see any mansions, etc you could do that thru the transportation center tour buses, but it would be cramming a lot into a day - but then again, flying over the Nantucket would still mean transport to the downtown Main Street shopping area, but if all you want to do is shop the latter might be the easier choice. THe other airport in RI is in Warwick, (TFGreen) and is about 30 minutes to Newport -
I think either way if you didn't do charter, you would fly Cape Air , so checking their website might help you.

There is limited ferry service between MV and Nantucket, but you can check it out online, but I believe there is only one round trip a day and that it doesn't give you virtually any on island time as it is a turn around ferry - but google the ferry services hyline and steamship authority to be sure.

on island, you can then decide if any in your party want to rent bicycles to tour parts of the island, or even a jeep for a day, or mopeds - but at least you'll have your car to get to some of the gem spots and to just enjoy some driving up island and stopping along the way where you want.

you and your mom will have plenty of places to shop on the martha's vineyard - Edgartown, Oak Bluffs, Vineyard Haven, which are all walkable areas and if the boys have the car that day you can take the island bus - and byb car explore all the little shops/antique/galleries on the drive to Menemsha, Aquinnah, etc.

You could also consider just taking the ferry as a passenger one day over to Falmouth, and when you get off the ferry taking a cab to Falmouth and shopping there. (falmouthvisitor.com)

for newport look at : gonewport.com

on island restaurants:
One of my favorites is Outermost Inn (but it closes Oct 9)
My other favs are
in oak bluffs: Sweet Life Cafe for dinner and Lola's for dancing and after dinner drinks (Lola's food is also great but I think more so if you have a larger group and can share b/c portions are huge - southern type flair - but for higher end 'fancier' food I would choose Sweet Life

For casual; Zapotec (mexican) or Giordano's for pizza / casual italian. Breakfast at Linda Jeans
and for bbq, Smoke and Bones (also good for take out for a group)

In Edgartown we like Atria's, Alchemy and Chesca's for a dinner out : for casual, David Ryans or Lattanzi

Seafood casual (picnic benches outside in Oct?? not sure) but good for take out: Net Result

For a nice stop shopping in Edgartown with your mom, have tea and biscuits at English Butler and for lunch while shopping in Vineyard Haven, Zephrus - some like Cafe Moxie, but I like Zephrus usually great soups and crab cakes and salads. Open for dinner buy BYOB as Vineyard Haven is a dry town(same for Outermost Inn)

In Menemsha for seafood: The BIte if still open

Another special dinner out is Beach Plum Inne

If you grill at the house, Shiretown Meats on way to Edgartown has great selection. Also sandwiches to go for a beach day etc.

dfinley

Thank you all so much for all the great info! I reserved a SUV at the Boston airport today and I do think it is best if we rent the car there. I think we will skip Nantucket and stay in MV every day except one day in Newport. You have given me good advice and I am checking on the fishing info for my Dad. It sounds like there is plenty to do in October. We will do the walk in Edgartown, go to Chappy and see gardens and lighthouse. We will go to Menemsha and watch the sunset and eat at Larsen's or the Bite. We will have bikes at our house to use so I think we will have plenty to do! MAybe rent kayak for the kids while I shop or relax. Maybe visit the winery as the kids have never been to one. One more question... Does anyone know about high speed internet, my husband will have to work some every day.I think Mailbox,etc. has access from what I have heard. Any advice or locations? Thanks again everyone!

Anonymous

Have you made your ferry reservations?

escargot

There is a lovely room downstairs with internet at the library in Vineyard Haven - also an internet room at Oaks Bluff library (and if you have a laptop with you , you can access the signal from ouside or inside with connections if you bring your laptop and have that capability - but the OB one is a small area with no room to spread out papers/take notes - I prefer the VH area downstairs.

Also, don't know what time you are landing at Logan b/c of all the construction now with highway repairs to the now famous "big dig" - hopefully they will be over by October, but if they are not you could hit traffic snarls on the way to woodshole depending on what time and what day you arrive - so you may want to give yourself some leeway in making your automobile reservation time - which you should do as soon as possible on
steamshipauthority.com

otherwise, i might have even suggested flying into tfgreen airport, which makes the drive to woodshole a tad longer by about 20 minutes, but usually has less expensive airfares and less traffic - but i fyou are already set at Logan, just leave some extra time to make your ferry - if you hit no traffic the worse is you enjoy downtown Falmouth for a refreshment or stretching your legs.

You should arrive for a car ferry 30 minutes prior to departure - the schedule is online at above web site. Also, that time of year, if you do miss it, they can hopefully accomodate you on the next one as they usually leave emergency open spaces for residents and emergencies.

dfinley

We are arriving at 2:30 at Logan and then renting a car. What time do you think I should arrange ferry? Thank you again for all your helpful information.

coldkelly

I was in MV for the first time last summer and really enjoyed the guided tour of the Campground Cottages. You and your mom might like that. It's sponsored by a nonprofit, maybe the historical society. They provide lots of interesting information and it was just very nice.

escargot

I think you said you arrive on Oct 7 (which is the Saturday of the Columbus Day holiday weekend) -
if your plane lands at 2:30, then you need to figure time to get your luggage (guessing here, could be 30 minutes) and time to get the rental car (could be another 30 minutes) and then getting on the road around 3:30 - the travel time to WoodsHole is about one hour and 45 minutes -

remembering traffic could be tight in Boston if that Big Dig issue isn't finished yet, so i wouldn't plan on being in Woodshole until 5:30 and think of taking a ferry about 30-45 minutes after that, - around 6:15. The ferry is about 45 minutes which would get you on the island around 7pm -

You might get there earlier than this, or later - hard to tell. Depends on the type of traveler you are and how busy a holiday weekend it is at the rental car place, how fast your luggage comes out, how rushed or not rushed you want to be.

Personally,, I tend to go on the longer side so I am not rushed when traveling, b/c I always think it will be the time we don't get off the plane for 20 minutes, luggage takes longer than anticipated, etc - so I might be inclined to book a 7pm ferry and the worse is I would get to Woodshole early and have a light bite in Falmouth or cool my heels on that end, but that is up to you. There is a place to eat next to the Ferry as well as plenty in Falmouth Center which is about 10 minutes from the ferry on the way to the ferry. If you get there earlier, you can always ask to go in the wait list line and get on an earlier ferry if there is room.

Last fall we hit a terrible traffic snarl at the cape bridge and sat in traffic for 90 minutes and missed our ferry, but called the steamship authority and b/c everyone was in the same postiion traffic wise, they told us to keep coming and they would get us on, which they did. So bring the phone number with you in the car, just in case.

dfinley

Help! I have reserved a car with Budget in Boston . When I tried to make my ferry reservation, it asked me for the make,model and registration number. I contacted the rental company who said I could not take the car on a ferry. Do you know of rental car company that will give you the information on the exact car you will be renting this far in advance? Thanks!

escargot

I d on't know why the rental company won't let you take the car on the ferry; so first you would have to find a rental company who would allow that -
but do not worry about the make, model, license number - that can be changed. Every summer I book our two cars to go over on the ferry, but often I switch say my car for my sons and as long as I have the reservation in hand (which the ferry mails to you within days of making the reservation) you can change the make/model/license number as long as the 'stats' on the car are the same: for instance, I couldn't switch a car 'under 17' for a longer and higher car, like a camper, because the ferry basically 'figures' by the length and heights of cars what they can fit on each ferry - that is the only reason they ask you for that info - one year when we purchased some kayaks, which did make our car 'higher' and the length a bit longer,we gave them the info a week ahead and they still accomodated us - once, they made friends of ours remove the kayak, lay it along side in the ferry, and then put it back on top after they'd driven the car off the ferry - so that is only when it matters for figuring what the ferry can hold. - if you call the steamship authority and explain you are renting, I am fairly sure this is what they will tell you.

escargot

re reading and I probably didn't make sense when I said 'under 17' I meant to say "under 17 feet" - so now does that make sense?